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FEMA Directs Disaster Donations Toward Pat Robertson ...
I write today to say:
President Bush's, Michael Chertoff's, Department of Homeland Security's, FEMA -- " ... is working 24/7" and "doing a great job".
Or so GWB's public pronouncement, proudly proclaimed today.
But being the canniest kind of old cynic and cautious old coot that he is, This Old Brit decided to do some detective work.
So he began by visiting the Department of Homeland Security's official FEMA website.
Then he read down the right hand column. Not too far down mind you. In fact, just down enough to spot the blue bullet-pointed "Volunteer or Make a Donation" line -- then once thereupon, he casually clicked -- and Bingo!
A page appeared announcing a list of associations engaged in alleviating an assortment of afflictions caused by the current catastrophe, called Katrina.
Perhaps not at all unexpectedly, the American Red Cross came first. Secondly and really rather aptly, came America's Second Harvest.
Next ............. came Operation Blessing ........ part of the [in] famous Pat [pseudo pius] Robertson operation.
This Old Brit couldn't quite believe it at first. Well, maybe not for a mere mega-second or so.
But he soon saw the light.
He's sure you will too, by following the same simple route described above.
And he's kept it simple, by straightway setting you on the right path, so to speak, via the main link.
See if you see the light.
Just click & go: http://www.fema.gov/
posted by Richard at Saturday, September 03, 2005
18 Comments:
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Great research, Richard. I hope this gets around far and wide. Even in the midst of such suffering, they find ways to benefit people like Robertson and Halliburton, which has already gotten some contracts for rebuilding. They're so immersed in their corruption, they can't operate outside of it.
I 'm absolutely appalled.
I wonder how much of a cut Pat gets from each donation.
Ugh!
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3335685
Add to that Halliburton gets the clean up work.
America is so corrupt and screwed, the chickenhawks all help each other at the ex[ense of the world and humanity
harper, give yourself a pat on the back before me. When it comes to research, I don't know many who work as hard as you - nor have half as many head's up credits.
Cosmic, after all the alleged 'expenses' are deducted from whatever rolls in to that crook, I wouldn't be surprised if the genuine 'cause' got less than 25 cents on the dollar.
anon, that's a great find - many thanks.
Cheney, Halliburton et all really do have no shame. Nor morals.
They continue to insult people's intelligence too. Sadly so many haven't enough of the stuff to see that though.
And I'm giving that Halliburton link again -- it's too important to take a chance on ANYONE missing it.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3335685
robertson is worth somewhere around a billion dollars. camel-sized, when it comes to approaching a needle. he deals in blood diamonds with charles taylor. evil.
For almost 30 years I've been warning folks about these Religious Reich monsters and only recently have the rest of the world begun to wake up to their evil. I'm going to indulge myself in a onetime petty vice and say....
I TOLD YA SO!
There, I feel MUCH better now!
Re Operation Blessing
excerpt from http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=49&row=0
...
Neil Volder, president of Robertson Financial and director of the new bank venture, emphasises that Robertson selflessly donated between 65 and 75 per cent of his salary as head of International Family Entertainment. But that amounted to only a few hundred thousand dollars a year - pocket change for a man of Robertson's means.
There was also, says Volder, the $7m he gave to 'Operation Blessing' to alleviate the woes of refugees fleeing genocide in Rwanda. Robertson's press operation puts the sum at only $1.2m. More interesting is the way the Operation Blessing funds were used in Africa. Through an emotional fundraising drive on his TV station, Robertson raised several million dollars for the tax-free charitable trust. Operation Blessing bought planes to shuttle medical supplies in and out of the refugee camp in Goma, Congo (then Zaire).
But investigative reporter Bill Sizemore of the Virginian Pilot discovered that over a six-month period - except for one medical flight - the planes were used to haul equipment for something called African Development Corporation, a diamond mining operation a long way from Goma. African Development is owned by Pat Robertson.
Did Robertson know about the diversion of the relief planes? According to pilots' records, he actually flew on one plane ferrying equipment to his mines.
One of Robertson's former business partners recalled that, although he often travelled in the minister's jet, he never saw Robertson crack open a Bible. 'Everywhere we were flying he had the Wall Street Journal and Investors' Daily.'
Volder counters that by diverting the planes for diamond mining, Robertson was actually carrying out God's work. The planes proved unfit for hauling medicine, so Robertson salvaged them for the diamond hunt which, if successful, would have 'freed the people of the Congo from lives of starvation and poverty'. The Virginia State Attorney General is conducting an investigation into Operation Blessing that is looking into the use of the charity's equipment.
Volder asserts that Robertson was 'not trying to earn a profit, but to help people'. As it turned out, he did little of either. The diamond safari went bust, as did Robertson's ventures in vitamin sales and multi-level marketing. These disastrous investments added to his losses in oil refining, the Founders Inn Hotel and a jet- leasing fiasco. One cannot term a demi-billionaire a poor businessman - but, outside of the media, Robertson could not cite for me any commercial success.
It is too early to tell whether his board membership of Laura Ashley will improve the company's fortunes. But, undeniably, Robertson is a master salesman. To this I can attest after joining the live audience in Virginia Beach for 700 Club, his daily television broadcast to raise money for the Christian Broadcast Network.
That week, he was selling miracles. Following a mildly bizarre 'news' segment (reporting, for example, that the Kosovo Liberation Army sells heroin), Robertson shut his eyes and went into a deep trance.
After praying for divine assistance for his visions, he announced: 'There is somebody who has cancer of the intestines ... God is healing that right now and you will live! ... Somebody named Michael has a deep chest cough ... God is healing you right now!'
It is not clear why the Lord needs the intervention of an expensive cable TV operation to communicate to Michael. But more intriguing theological issues are raised by the programme hosts' linking of miracles to donations made to Robertson's organisation.
In a taped segment, a woman's facial scars healed after her sister joined the 700 Club (for a donation of $20 a month). A voice intoned: 'She didn't realise how close to home her contribution would hit.' It ended: 'Carol was so grateful God healed her sister, she increased her pledge.'
The miracles add up. In 1997, Christian Broadcast Network, Robertson's 'ministry', took in $164m in donations plus an additional $34m in other income. The tidal wave of tax-deductible cash generated by this daily dose of holiness paid for the cable channel - which was sold in 1997 to Rupert Murdoch, along with the old sitcoms that filled the remaining broadcast hours, for $1.82bn.
But seven years prior to the sale of this media bonanza, the tax-exempt group 'spun it off' to a for-profit corporation, in which Robertson held a controlling interest.
Robertson donated hundreds of millions of dollars from the Murdoch deal to both CBN and CBN University (now Regent University). That still left Robertson burdened with a heavy load of cash to carry through the eye of the needle.
In his younger days, Robertson gave up worldly wealth to work in the ghettos of New York. But, says a former Coalition executive, 'Pat's changed'. She noted that he gave up his ordination as a Baptist minister in 1988. (He is still, incorrectly, called 'Reverend Pat' by the media.) His change in 1988 was accelerated when, according to his former television co-host Danuta Soderman Pfeiffer, 'he was ensnared by the idea that God called him to run for President of the United States'.
...
An alternative URL for above article is http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,3867951,00.html
What a great bunch of people we're privileged to have helping & posting here.
Drip, drip, drip -- the evidence piles up. Perhaps soon, someone somewhere will see to it that it's put to proper use.
Stinks to high heaven doesn't it, Noel?!
Btw, what's happened to your blog? Your main site's still there, but for days I've not been able to get into your blog.
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050919/blumenthal
The Nation is covering this
Sandra
Great news, sandra. Bushco should be shown up for what they really are, by as many as possible. Let's hope this is.
Lets hope this turns into their personal tsnunami - and sweeps them away to where they all belong.
http://www.dallasnews.com/cgi-bin/bi/gold_print.cgi
Texas Governor trying to get people to give to his faith based "charity" instead.
These bastards are sick and twisted
Sandra who hopes that all of these bastards are inspected throughily.
Someone told Cheney to F' off today live on CNN, when he was doing a propaganda visit to a middle class neighbourhood in MS, another resident was pissed also and said straght up it was pure propaganda!!!!!!!!
Sandra,
I saw & heard that clip. Good on the guy, whoever he was.
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